The Hindu 19.09.2013
Paid parking makes a comeback
Get ready to start paying parking fees. The Bruhat
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council, on Wednesday, gave the go
ahead to bring back paid parking in the city, albeit in the core areas.
According
to the resolution approved by Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana, the paid
parking system will be implemented first in the core areas comprising 85
major roads in three zones (West zone, East zone and South zone). It
will be implemented in the areas coming between Ulsoor and Sirsi Circle
(East-West boundary) and between Lalbagh and Bangalore Palace
(South-East boundary).
The BBMP, which withdrew paid
parking in 2005, will be implementing the action plan prepared by the
Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), after the government
recently approved the parking policy.
The resolution
stated that the directorate conducted a study on the available parking
provisions in the areas under East-West boundary and South-East
boundary. The study revealed that there was demand for parking 4,800
cars and 10,000 two-wheelers here. With a firm view that the demand for
parking will only increase further, DULT has classified the areas into
three packages. While Package A is classified as premium parking area,
Package B is business parking area and Package C is ordinary parking.
The
BBMP has fixed parking rates for the 85 roads that have been classified
under the three packages. The parking fee will be revised every year
based on the wholesale price index.
The
BBMP hopes to set up a Parking Information System and put in place
parking meters. Citizens will be able to make payments through mobile
applications and swipe cards. Digital display boards may soon appear on
the selected roads indicating the available parking spaces. All this is
set to be centrally controlled. To implement this ambitious system, the
BBMP will have to cough up at least Rs. 40 crore. According to
estimates, the BBMP is expecting to garner Rs. 80 crore as revenue
through parking fees and will be spending Rs. 8.5 crore on annual
maintenance of the fully automated system.
Termed as
the Bangalore Initiative for Parking, the BBMP will first have to float
tenders and issue contracts for five years. Mr. Sathyanarayana said that
the nitty-gritty of the implementation are yet to be worked out. “We
will discuss the issue with the officials and implement the system
accordingly,” he added.